The last but not the least Speaker for the Breakout Session on Health and Food is a raw food & yogini goddess. Sonia Astudillo shared with us her journey and the health benefits of practicing a raw, vegan lifestyle.

1. February9,2016
1stPhilippineEnvironmentSummit
BreakthroughsandInnovationstowards
SustainableDevelopment
Benefits of Raw Vegan Lifestyle

2. About Me
Educational background
• B.A. Journalism (cum laude), University of the Philippines-
Diliman
• M.A. Public Policy (Asian Development Bank scholar),
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS),
Tokyo, Japan
Work experience
• Editor and writer for several women's magazine
• Media Affairs staff for former Congressman Juan Miguel F.
Zubiri
• Project's Assistant and Asia Writing Coordinator for People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific
• Media and Writers Group Head for Senator Edgardo J.
Angara
• Communications and Press Campaigner for Health Care
Without Harm-Asia.
Special trainings:
• Yoga Teacher's Training at Sivananda Yoga Vedanta
Dhanwantari Ashram in Kerala, South India
• Raw food training with Chef Jonny Freesh of Raw Food Bali
• Chef and Health Educator and Detox training certification
with Elaina Love of Pure Joy Culinary Academy
Services offered
• Yoga and Pilates Classes
• Raw Food Classes
• Detox & Health
Coaching
• Reiki & Chi Nei Tsang
sessions
• Batik painting

3. IS IT POSSIBLE TO BRING
COMPASSION BACK INTO
THE STORY OF OUR FOOD?

4. What is Raw Vegan Food?
Advantages & Disadvantages
of a Raw Food Lifestyle
Factors to Consider in Raw
Vegan Lifestyle
Raw Food Practices in the
Philippines
Sustainability & Greening
How to Support a Raw Food
Lifestyle

5. What is Raw Vegan or Living Food?
100% pure natural, uncooked and minimally processed.
All fruits, including low temperature dried fruit
All raw vegetables
All nuts and seeds that are not roasted, toasted, or baked – which most
nuts in the grocery store are
All raw oils – cold pressed olive oil, coconut oil
Soaked and sprouted grains and legumes such as lentils, mung beans &
quinoa

6. ADVANTAGES &
DISADVANTAGES OF A
RAW FOOD LIFESTYLE
Why we should Eat More Raw
Food?
How Raw Vegan Diet Heals?
What are the Benefits of a
Raw Food Lifestyle?

7. Why we should Eat More Raw Food?
• When heated to more than about 43˚C/118˚F foods lose more than
85% of their enzymes
• Of over 700,000 species of animals on the earth, humans are the only
ones to cook their food
• Long Life
• Detoxification
The perks of eating mostly raw food

8. How Raw Vegetarian Food Heals
Dietary Fiber
Enzymes
Water
Minerals

9. Benefits of A Raw Food Lifestyle
Physical Health
Mental Health
Emotional Health
Spiritual Connection
Environmental Impact
Eat Less—Live Longer
The Pleasure Factor

10. Acid/Alkaline Balance
Acid vs Alkaline Food
Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline (7.35 - 7.45). Below or above
this range means symptoms and disease. A pH of 7.0 is neutral. A pH
below 7.0 is acidic. A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.
To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline-forming foods
and 40% acid-forming foods. To restore health, the diet should consist of
80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods.

11. An acidic balance will: decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and
other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease its
ability to repair damaged cells, decrease its ability to detoxify heavy metals,
make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and
illness. A blood pH of 6.9, which is only slightly acidic, can induce coma
and death.
Alkaline-forming foods: most fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils,
spices, herbs and seasonings, and seeds and nuts
Acid-forming foods: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes

12. Glycemic Index
Glycemic Index (GI) is the measure of how quickly blood sugar levels rise
after eating a particular food. It varies according to food variety, ripeness,
cooking methods, processing, and the length of storage.
The sweet life

13. Low GI and High GI food
Food with low GI releases glucose more slowly and steadily and produces
gradual rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. It has proven benefits for
health. High GI food, on the other hand, is rapidly digested and absorbed
and causes a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels. This is suitable for
energy recovery after exercise or for people experiencing hypoglycemia.
Note that,
• High GI food is linked to obesity.
• Low GI food helps control appetite and delay hunger.
• Low GI food has been known to lower the risk of
developing type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease,
and age-related macular degeneration.
• Low GI diet improves both glucose and lipid levels in
people with diabetes. It reduces insulin levels and insulin
resistance.

14. A good option is to have a mix of high and low GI foods
as this will produce a moderate GI values.
Remember: The body is at its best when the blood
sugar level is kept at constant. Too low blood sugar
levels causes lethargy and increased hunger while
too high sugar level causes the body to secrete more
insulin. Insulin regulates the blood sugar but in the
process converts excess sugar to stored fat. Constant
increase in blood sugar levels results to constant
release of excess amount of insulin which might
drive the blood sugar level down too low.

15. Raw Juicing
Why juice?

17. Things to remember when juicing
• Choose organic vegetables and fruits.
• Learn to listen to your body. Juicing should
make you feel good.
• Juice appropriately. Limit fruit juicing when
you have diabetes or high cholesterol.
• Juice for your health. Make sure to balance
your food intake. Juicing is best during detox
or fasts.
• Slow down. Dr. Mercola recommends
starting with vegetables that are easy to digest
and then move on to other vegetables when
the stomach has adjusted.
Phase 1: celery, fennel, cucumber
Phase 2: red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce,
romaine lettuce, endive, escarole,
spinach
Phase 3: cabbage, Chinese cabbage, bokchoy
Phase 4: Herbs such as parsley and cilantro
Phase 5: One or two of: kale, collard greens,
dandelion greens, mustard green
• Enjoy your juice. Drink the juice right away.
You may add limes, lemon, or coconut for
flavor.

18. Soaking Nuts, Seeds, & Fruits
Nuts and seeds are protected with an enzyme inhibitor. The inhibitor is
washed away during spring allowing the nuts or the seeds to germinate
and sprout. However, when we eat nuts and seeds with enzyme inhibitor
still intact, we are giving the body more work to do.
When sprouting process starts, the nut or seed starts to predigest itself
turning carbohydrates into simple sugars, proteins into amino acids, and
fats into fatty acids. During this, the nutrition can increase up to 300%.
Importance of soaking nuts, seeds, and fruits

19. Fermented Food
Fermented foods are foods that have been through a process of lactofermentation in which natural bacteria feed on the sugar
and starch in the food creating lactic acid.
It preserves the food and creates beneficial enzymes, B vitamins, omega-3
fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics.
It also preserves nutrients in food and break the food down to a more
digestible form.

20. Food Combination
Combining for health

21. • Eat proteins and carbohydrates at separate meals.
• Eat only one concentrated protein at each meal. Treat
juices (fruit or vegetable) as whole foods.
• Take milk alone or not at all.
• Desert desserts.
• Cold foods (including liquid) inhibit digestion.
• Only eat fruit alone as a fruit meal.
• Fruit should not be eaten between meals while other food
is digesting in the stomach.
• Do not eat sweet fruits and acid fruits together

22. FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN RAW VEGAN FOOD PREPARATION
1. Choose organic. Since there is no cooking involved, buy organic fruits and vegetables.
While at this, choose local too. This way you’re supporting local farmers and reducing your
carbon footprint.
2. Remember the acid/alkaline balance. An acidic body is less able to absorb the nutrients
from the food and is more susceptible to diseases. For a healthier body, choose more alkaline
food and this includes fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, spices, herbs, seasoning,
seeds and nuts - mostly food that may be eaten raw.
3. Consider the sugar content. Eating raw vegan does not always mean you are eating well and
healthy. Think of glycemic index which measures how quickly the blood sugar rise after eating
a food. The lower the GI, the better.
4. Consider juicing.
5. If you’re fond of using nuts, remember to soak them first. Nuts have enzymes inhibitors
which makes it harder for you to digest which in the end deceives the purpose of eating raw.
6. Consider sprouting your nuts and seeds. Other than giving new flavor to your dishes, this
makes it easier for your body to digest.
7. Think fermented foods and the benefits of probiotics.
8. In raw food, we go for a hint of all or most of the tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and
umami. But more than the taste, think of proper food combination.

23. RAW FOOD PRACTICES
IN THE PHILIPPINES

24. • Atchara (fermented raw green papaya) is made of grated papaya.
Often served as a side dish, Atchara has been in Filipino dining tables
far longer than the American hamburgers.
• Burong Mustasa or Burong Mangga (pickled mustard or mangoes) is
made of mustard leaves or green mangoes in brine.
• Ensalada. Popular raw salads often found in Filipino kitchens are
ampalaya salad (ampalaya plus vinegar and salt), radish salad (radish
plus vinegar, salt, and pepper), pako (fern) salad, and ensaladang manga
(mango with tomatoes and onion).
• Kilawin is made of raw meat or seafood combined with vinegar or
calamansi, onion, ginger, and chili peppers.

25. SUSTAINABILITY &
GREENING

26. Why is organic raw vegan food better
for the environment?
• Using local produce not only supports local farmers but generates
fewer greenhouse gas emissions associated with transporting food
from the farm.
• Animals products contribute to land usage and pollution.
• Animal products contribute to water usage and pollution.
• Global warming.
Raw for the environment

27. "With humanity on a diet of raw foods, the food industry would close up
shop and take up organic gardening. This would save us enormous
amounts of natural resources used to produce power for these industries.
Also, think of the forests we'd save, when we wouldn't need the paper and
plastics used in packaging our processed foods. There would also be less
carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when all the cooking stopped.
More oxygen would be produced from all the new orchards and gardens. I
know this whole idea might seem improbable, but if all of us made a few
changes bit by bit, it would add up to help save Mother Earth.”
- www.living-foods.com

28. HOW TO SUPPORT A
RAW FOOD LIFESTYLE

29. Individual support
• Determine how much raw food you are currently eating per week.
• Then add 10% per week until you reach 80-100%.
• Stay at 80-100% raw for at least 6 weeks to notice the powerful
benefits.
• Have a support system: raw food classes, meet-ups
• Join raw food groups/challenges: Raw Food Tuesdays, Raw til 4….
Going raw

30. SUPPORT ON A BIGGER
SCALE THROUGH POLICIES
Observing a raw vegan month in
schools and offices
- Lectures and films on raw
vegan food
- Easy meal ideas and documents
to refer to and link
Observing raw vegan days like
Meatless Mondays
Vegetable gardens in schools and
barangays
Availability of raw vegan options in
canteens
Create awareness on raw vegan
food through social and community
groups
Recommend raw vegan diet as part
of holistic approach to health

31. As Josh Tetrick of Beyond Eggs and Hampton
Creek Foods (in the documentary Cowspiracy)
says, it (vegan lifestyle) also brings compassion
back into the story of our food. We are taught
to be selective in compassion, but it rewards us
and others to choose compassion in every area
of our lives where we are able to choose it.

32. Thank you!
RawYoginiSonia.com
Sonia@RawYoginiSonia.com